Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Matrika Prasad Yadav addressed the LDCs Ministerial and Business Executive Roundtable in Geneva on October 24 and shared the latest strategies and measures taken by the government for creating conducive environment for foreign investment in Nepal.
The Minister highlighted that Nepal’s political stability after the formation of a two-thirds majority government under the new federal democratic constitution has brought economic development at the center-stage and, in that respect, has adopted an overarching objective of achieving ‘Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali’.
He informed that Nepal has achieved an economic growth rate of 7.4% last year, fostering investment friendly environment in the country.
According to a press release of the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations in Geneva, on the occasion Minister Yadav encouraged investors to come to Nepal to realize the potentials of a country that can enjoy the duty free market access facilities granted to LDCs, and lies between the two growth poles of the world.
He conveyed that the government is coming up with a number of policies and strategies for realizing more investments in the priority sectors including hydropower, infrastructure, tourism, agriculture, mining and industrial ventures.
Prior to the Ministerial roundtable, the Minister had a meeting with Secretary General of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Mukhisa Kituyi.
In the meeting, he appreciated the technical support from UNCTAD to carry out study reports and strategic interventions such as Investment policy review, e-trade readiness assessment and customs modernization through ASYCUDA. The Minister also requested support for capacity building, particularly in entrepreneurship development and promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMES).
Kituyi expressed the commitment of UNCTAD in supporting LDCs like Nepal in developing women and youth entrepreneurship development and other priority sectors.
Secretary for Industries Yam Kumari Khatiwada, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations and other International organizations Deepak Dhital, among others were present on the occasion.
Earlier, on 23 October 2018, the Hon’ble Minister also had a meeting with Director General Francis Gurry of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and exchanged views on the existing and potential cooperation between WIPO and Nepal. Matters related to policy and institutional development of Nepal in intellectual property rights protection and promotion were discussed during the meeting.
